Blackpool's historic Little Marton Windmill will proudly turn again as huge sail restoration begins

Work is underway to reinstate the windmill sails that have welcomed people to Blackpool for generations.

They will soon turn once more thanks to an investment of £70,000 to restore them, helping to preserve of one of the most recognisable landmarks.

Blackpool Council leader Cllr Lynn Williams and Blackpool South MP Chris Webb have committed to the investment and now Blackpool Council has announced work will begin to put them in place.

The council has been working with heritage experts and millwrights to develop restoration plans for Little Marton Windmill. The Grade-II listed building is the last remaining original windmill in the town.

Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South said: “I’m delighted to have secured the £70,000 needed for Little Marton Windmill’s sails from the Pride in Place Impact Fund.

“When I visited the Friends group here last year, they had been fundraising for the sails themselves, but despite the generosity of the community, they needed more support and I was determined to help them.

“The windmill is so important – the last one in Blackpool, and the first thing visitors see. This is exactly what the Pride in Place Fund was designed to do – invest in the places that matter most to local people, protect our heritage and strengthen pride in our communities.”

The project is the latest to benefit from Blackpool's Pride in Place Impact Fund.

Blackpool has received £1.5 million from the government's Pride in Place programme to deliver visible improvements in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The funding is being invested in projects that regenerate neglected spaces, create welcoming environments and boost local pride, with Council Leader and the MP working together to agree priority projects.

The windmill, on Preston New Road, has undergone initial repair and restoration works in recent years, supported by The Friends of Little Marton Windmill.

Now money has been earmarked to pay for the new sails and an essential mechanism needed to extend their lifespan.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Little Marton Windmill is one of Blackpool’s iconic heritage buildings. We’ve been working on identifying funding to put back the sails that have welcomed generations of people to Blackpool.

“Over the last two years we’ve been focused on emergency repairs to the cap and windows to get the building watertight. In the background we’ve been commissioning specialist surveys and working with heritage experts too, with an eye on longer-term plans for the mill. It’s a more complex job than it might first appear, though. The mill is a Grade-II listed building so we’re working to understand the best methods and materials needed to complete the works.

“The last wooden sails quickly deteriorated due to water damage. Because they couldn’t turn, water pooled along the same parts of the wooden structure meaning they soon rotted. The specialists we’re working with are working on a solution that will allow us to turn the new sails every few months, to prevent that same deterioration happening again.

“The Friends group have been excellent stewards for the windmill over the years and I’m so pleased their commitment and efforts will be rewarded with thorough restoration works.”

Shirley Matthews from Friends of Little Marton Windmill said: “We’re delighted to have this funding and it will make a huge difference to our community who are all proud of the mill.

“We know the council have been working on trying to identify funding to put the sails back on since they completed emergency repairs to the cap last year. We also know there have been complications with trying to find the right solution that will allow us to turn the sails so they don’t rot.

The first windmill in Little Marton was a post mill recorded in 1786. The current structure is a rebuild of another tower mill, constructed in the 1838 and operating until the 1920s.

New wooden sails added to the building in the 2010s had to be removed in 2023 due to deterioration. Urgent repair works were then completed on the windmill’s cap and, later, to repaint and protect the whole mill.

Chris Webb MP added: “I'd like to thank all the volunteers for their tireless dedication. Their persistence has helped make this restoration possible.

“I’m now working with the Friends group and the dedicated local councillors for Clifton, Paula Burdess and Alistair Humphreys, to make the mill and the land around it even more of a destination for local families to enjoy.

“I want to see families enjoying this much-loved landmark for years to come. The open days run by the Friends of Little Marton Windmill are fantastic and I encourage local people to come down on the last Sunday of the month to learn more about the mill’s fascinating past.”

Cllr Paula Burdess, ward councillor for Clifton ward, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve secured the funding to replace the sails on Little Marton Windmill, which is one of the key heritage sites in Blackpool. You see it just as you come off the M55 and it’s steeped in history, so it’s absolutely vital that we protect it.

The four-storey structure still has some of its original machinery in-situ, giving visitors a glimpse into its past.

The windmill is open to the public on the last Sunday of each month, until October.